Storage apparatus



Sept. 17, 1935. E. E. wlNKLEY 2,014,458

STORAGE APPARATUS Ori eet 1 SmjmgJ/L) y 5.1;

SePt- 17, 1935. E. E. WINKLEY 2,014,458

STORAGE APPARATUS Original Filed Feb. 14, 19295932 Sheets-5h66?l 2 M@ mmm .l Honk-@h Patented Sept.: l17, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STORAGE APPARATUS Erastus E. Winkley, Lynn, Mass., assigner to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Claims;

My invention relates to apparatus for storing articles, it being especially adapted for holding, ready for use by an operator, containers in which shoes are to be forwarded from one operating position to another. The present application is a division of that lled in my name in the United States Patent Oice on February 14, 1929, bearing the Serial No. 339,882, and entitled Transferring system. This, on October 23, 1934, became Patent No. 1,978,004. A second divisional application of this parent case, Serial N6. 620,520, filed July l, 1932, having the title, Transferring system,? has matured into Patent No. 1,978,005, issued on October 23, 1934.

It is desirable, in shoemaking systems, to forward the work from one operating position or section to another in small units, as a single shoe or a pair of shoes, this unit being held in a container which protects it against injury. Under Isome conditions, as when a forwarding operator works more rapidly than a receiving operator and is tofuse again the containers from which said receiving operator has removed the shoe or shoes, these containers should be so disposed of that they may be readily utilized by the forwarding operator. It is therefore an object of this invention to receive and accumulate containers or other article-holding means in an orderly manner and to so present them to the operator, Without effort on his part, that they may always be disposed conveniently for his use. This end is attained in the storage apparatus of this invention by a series of holding members, eachof which may be adapted to receive, under the inuence of novel delivering means, a plurality of containers or the like, engaging and retaining them as by projections with which they are provided. These members, shown as grooved bars, preferably have means for moving them in opposite directions, in one direction to present articles for removal by the operator, and in the other to receive articles from delivering means. These movements, and also the actuation of means for delivering the containers or other articles to the holding members and for advancing them along said members for removal, are preferably controlled automatically by the articles themselves. This apparatus gives within a limited floor-space a large storage-capacity and receives and renders available its contents with a minimum amount of attention and effort on the part of the operator.

In the accompanying drawings, in which a particular embodiment of this invention appears,

Fig. l shows my improved storage apparatus in end elevation, with-parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, looking from the left in Fig. l;

Fig. 3, a top plan view; and

Fig. 4, a perspective view of a portion of one of the containers. 5

The apparatus E of this invention is preferably organized to store containers 80 (Figs. l and 4), which may be in the form of boxes of such size as to hold one or more shoes. Upon one end Wall of each container are preferably two projections l0 82 spaced from each other along a horizontal line, and each provided with a head or enlargement 84. After a receiving operator has removed the work from the containers, they are forwarded by a continuously driven conveyor 55|, which carries l5 them to a point in proximity to a table 560 supported at one side of frame 562 of the apparatus E. Rotatable in the frame beside the table is a horizontal shaft 564, and spaced from this, being shown as above it, is a shaft 566 journaled in the frame (Fig. 2). Secured to the shafts, respectively in a plane adjacent to the receiving end of the table and in a plane spaced therefrom across the apparatus, are pairs of sprocket-wheels 568, 568 upon which operate sprocket-chains 510, 510. Extending horizontally between' the chains and being distributed about them in a series, are container-receiving and carrying bars 512, each having at its outer side a channel 514 formed to receive and temporarily retain at any point throughout its length the headed projections 82 of the containers. These chains and bars fur nish a storage-conveyor. The length of the respective bars may be such that six containerswill be received by each. When this storage apparatus is located at the position of an operator who works more rapidly than the succeeding or receiving operator, it may serve to support, at the endy of a working period, all the containers which are required to care for the output of the forwarding operator before the slower receiving operator is ready to work upon these shoes.

When the forwarding operator begins his work, he will find one of the bars 512 held by the chains 510 just above the table 560. To receive the first 4U shoe he slides out from this bar the container next to the table, or that at the left in Fig. l. In the path of all containers thus removed is the upper extremity of a lever 516 fulcrumed below and extending through an opening in the table. The resultant tilting of the lever by the container draws upon a cord or connecting member 518 leading from said lever to a bell-crank controlling lever 580 fulcrumed upon the opposite side of the frame 562. The controlling lever is thereby caused to release a pawl 582, of an operating mechanism u, which is pivoted upon one arm of a bell-crank-lever 584 turning upon a horizontal shaft 586. 'Ihe lever 584 is oscillated continuously through connections including a vertical link 588, a bell-crank lever 590 pivoted near the lower portion of the frame, and a peripheral camgroove 592 in a disk 594 secured to a shaft 596 turning in the lower part o f the frame and driven constantly. 'I'hus freed, the oscillating pawl 582 enters one of a regularly spaced series of depressions about the periphery of a disk 598 (Fig. 3) fast upon the shaft 586, which also has secured to it two sprocket-wheels 600, 600. 'I'he wheels are so spaced that they lie near the ends of the containers in the series under consideration, or that carried by the bar directly cooperating with the table. Upon these wheels, and another pair of wheels 602, 602 fastened to a shaft 604 near the table, run a pair of sprocket-chains 606, 606. Between the chains are pivoted a series of contact-bars 608 each spaced from those adjacent to its opposite sides by the width of two containers. The bars may be of channel-shape (Fig. 2), with rounded upper edges urged by springs' 6|0 toward the containers carried by the bar co-operating with the table. Bars 608 are arranged in three groups, each group acting upon the containers of a bar 512 at the same point in the travel of said bar as that at which the lever 630 acts, but oppositely thereto with respect to their active effect. As the operator removes each container from the forward en-d of the bar adjacent to the table 560, the movement by the container of the lever 516 will start the mechanism u in operation, carrying the outer bar 608, or that at the right of Fig. 1, against the adjacent end of the series of containers in the direction indicated by the arrow and forcing them all toward the table by the width of one of said containers, thus presenting convenient to the hand of the operator the next one which is to be utilized. The bars which are below and in contact with the containers yield against their springs, the rounded upper edges preventing their catching. When the lever 584 makes its return stroke, after advancing the series of containers, engagement of the pawl 582 with the inclined lower end of the controlling lever 580 cams said pawl away from the disk 598 and the travel of the bars 608 ceases.

The removal of the containers goes on until the forwarding operator has used the entire six upon the holding bar alined with the table. At such time a contact finger 6|2, projecting from the chains 606 and of which there is one for each group of bars 608, comes in engagement with the upwardly extending arm of a lever 6|4 arranged to turn upon the shaft 586. To the lower arm of the lever is fastened a connecting cord 6|6 which leads to a bell-crank lever 6|8 (Fig. 2) The lever 6|8 controls an operating mechanism v actuated from a cam-groove in the outer end of a disk 650 fast upon the shaft 596. 'I'his mechanism may be of the same general character as the mechanism u, and acts upon the shaft 564 to lower, a distance equal to the space between the bars 512, the runs of the chains 510 at the side toward the table 560, thus bringing a bar filled with containers into position for their removal by the operator.

As the receiving operator works upon the shoes which the preceding operator forwards to him, the containers which he empties will accumulate upon the conveyor 55|. Here they are stopped, with the leading container at a point somewhat removed from the table 560, by the upturnedend of a double gate-lever 620, 620 fulcrumed upon the frame below and at opposite sides of the conveyor 55|. A spring 622 holds the gate normally in the path of the containers, it being retained against reverse movement by a spring-actuated latch 624 pivoted below the gate. Mounted to oscillate over the table is a delivering or container-feeding lever 630, having at its lower extremity a yoke at the opposite ends of which are container-engaging rolls 632. This feeding lever is fulcrumed at 634 upon a carrier-lever 636, which is, in turn, fulcrumed at 638 upon the frame 562. The upper arm of the lever 630, which is of the bell-crank type, has projecting laterally from its outer end a pin 640, which is held by a spring 642 against the lower extremity of a slot in a vertical link 644 joined to a bell-crank-lever 646 fulcrumed at the bottom of the frame. This lever 646 is continuously oscillated by a cam-groove 648 in the periphery of the disk 650. lever is thus in constant operation, its rolls moving so they will descend to contact with a container upon the table, offset laterally from or out of alinement with the retaining channel 514, to push it from said table so the container-projections 82 enter said channel. The feeding lever then travels rearwardly from the delivered container to its initial position.A Periodically, once after each advancing movement of the containers in a series by the mechanism u, the gate 620 is lowered, to permit the conveyor to deliver a container to the table 560, by a flexible connection 652 to the lever 590 of the mechanism u. This gate-withdrawal can take place only when the feeding lever 630 has returned to its inactive or normal position after a full forward movement and the way is free for the advance of the containers. The latch 624 at other times restrains the gate, it being withdrawn by a cord or connection 654 when the feeding lever is elevatedv The feeding 'I'his cord 654 is joined at the extremity opposite 40 the latch to a lever 655 arranged to turn about the fulcrum 638. 'Ihe outer arm of this lever lies in the path of the pin 640, which contacts with it only after the lever 630 has made a full feeding stroke. Thus, after the table 560 has been cleared as a result of the forward movement of said lever, the latch is drawn down and held against return by a partial release of the gate 620, the outer tailportion of which now rests against the under side of a container or the conveyor 55|. The periodic pull on the cord 652 may now fully depress the gate in the proper time-relation. As the gate frees the terminal container, the tail-portion rises and retains the succeeding containers against forward travel, until the gate is again elevated to u;

stop the advance. An extensible section 656 included in the connection 652 allows tension to be applied to said connection while the gate is still latched.

The forwarding operator takes the containers 60 80 from the presented bar 512 while the feeding lever is elevated and the way is thus clear, or he may remove them from the conveyor 55|. Each time the gate 620 is lowered, the forward container, which may be against said gate upon the conveyor 55|, is forced forward upon the table 560, and the lever 630 descending feeds it into place upon the alined bar 512, pushing back the other containers in this series which have been advanced by the chain-bars 608 from the opposite end. If this storage-bar 512 is already full, with its series complete, either because it has been supplied by the lever 630 from the conveyor 55|, or because a full bar has been brought into 75 Cil place from above by the mechanism v when the operator emptied the bar below it, the completion of the feeding stroke is prevented by the contact with the outside of the end container. Upon this change in the travel of the lever 630, continued action of the mechanism reciprocating the link 644 transfers the fulcrum of the feeding lever system from 634 to 638, the lever 630 being lowered bodily by the turning of the lever 636. At this time the spring 642 may yield suiciently to avoid injury to the engaged containers. In this movement, a connection 660 to the outer extremity of the lever 636 shifts a controlling bellcrank-lever 562 to start the action of operating mechanism w, o-f the same character as mechanisms u and 'D and located at the opposite side of the frame. The mechanism w receives power from a cam-groove at the end of disk 594. The shaft 564 is rotated through the mechanism w from the shaft 596 sufliciently to raise the active side of the storage device, this being in the opposite direction to that in which it was shifted by the mechanism o to present full bars 512 to the table.

' This brings from below, into direct cooperation with the table, an empty bar to receive the containers advanced by the lever 630 from the conveyor In this manner, as long as there are containers upon the conveyor and there is a space unfilled in a bar alined with the table, a transferring action will be maintained and the supply in the empty bars will be renewed. At all times there is provided a supply. of containers for the more rapidly working forwarding operator and space to receive the containers delayed in their travel by the slower receiving operator.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a container-storage apparatus, a plurality of holding members connected in an endless series, each member being arranged to receive a plurality of containers, means for moving the members into container-receiving position, container-delivering means movable longitudinally of the holding members for the successive delivery of containers to a single member, and means acting under the control of a change in the travel of the delivering means for controlling themember-moving means.

2. In an apparatus for storing containers having' projections, a series of holding members provided with means arranged to retain the container-projections at any point throughout the length of each member, means contacting with each container and movable along lines entirely outside the holders out of alinement with the retaining means for forcing the container-projections into co-operation with the retaining means, and means for moving the members into container-receiving position.

3. In an apparatus for storing containers having headed projections, a series of holding members provided with grooves extending longitudinally of said members and arranged to receive the heads of the projections, means oiset laterally from the grooves and movable along lines entirely outside the holders for forcing the containerprojections into said grooves, and means for moving the members into container-receiving position.

4. In a storage apparatus, a series of traveling article-holding members, each member being arranged to receive' a plurality of articles, means for successively moving the members into articlereceiving position, a constantly operating member for delivering articles tothe receiving member, said member being arranged to yield when a holding member has been filled. and means controlled in the yield of the member for governing the moving means.

5. In a storage apparatus, a series of traveling article-holding members, each member being arranged to receive a plurality of articles, means for successively moving the members into articlereceiving position, an oscillatory article-deliveri ing lever co-operating with the holding members, a shifting fulcrum-member for the lever, and controlling connections between the fulcrum member and the moving means.

6. In a storage apparatus, a series of traveling 1 article-holding members, each member being arranged to receive a plurality of articles, means for successively moving the members into article-receiving position, controlling means for the moving means including a lever, an oscillatory artis cle-delivering lever co-operating with the holding members, a shifting fulcrum-member for the lever, and flexible connections between the fulcrum member and the lever of the controlling means.

7. In a storage apparatus, a holding member for a series of articles, terminal-articles of which series may be successively removed by an operator, a chain having projections lfor contact with the articles of the series upon the holding mem- 3 ber, means for driving the chain, said means including a controlling lever, a lever fulcrumed adjacent to the end of the holding member in position to receive contact of all articles removed therefrom, and operating connections between the 3 levers.

8. In a storage apparatus, a series of traveling members, each member being arranged to hold a plurality of articles, means for moving the members into a position in which the terminal articles 4 may be removed, movable means for delivering articles to the holding members, and means movable oppositely to the delivering means with respect to their active effect for advancing articles along the members to the point of removal, the 4 delivering means and advancing means being arranged to act upon the articles held by a member at the same point in the travel of said member.

9. In a storage apparatus, a series of traveling members, each member being arranged to hold in 5 a series a plurality of articles, means for moving the members into a position in which the terminal articles may be removed by an operator, means for advancing articles along the members until all have been successively presented at the point 5 of removal, and means constructed and arranged to act only upon the removal by the operator of the last article of a series from a member for rendering active the moving means for the members.

10. In a storage apparatus, a series of traveling members, each member being arranged to hold a plurality of articles, means for moving the mem ber into a position in which the terminal articles may be removed by an operator, and means controlled by articles in their removal for advancing articles along the members to the point of removal.

11. In a storage apparatus, a series of traveling members, each member being larranged to hold a plurality of articles, means for moving the members into a position in which the terminal articles may be removed by an operator, means controlled by articles in their removal for advancing articles along the members to the point of removal, and means constructed and arranged to act upon 7 the removal of all the articles from a member for rendering active the moving means for the members.

12. In a storage apparatus, a. series of traveling members, each member being arranged to hold a plurality of articles, means for moving the members into a position in which the terminal articles may be removed, and means for advancing articles along the members to the point of removal, said advancing meansbeing provided with means for controlling the moving means.

13. In a storage apparatus, a series of traveling members, each member being arranged to hold a plurality of articles, means for moving the members into a position in which the terminal articles may be removed by an operator, an endless member for advancing articles along the members to the point of removal, said endless member being provided with projections, and means actuated by the projections for controlling the moving means. f

14. In a storage apparatus, a series of traveling members, each member being arranged to hold a plurality of articles, means for moving the members into a position in which the terminal articles may be removed by an operator, an endless member for advancing articles along the members to the point of removal, said endless member being provided with projections spaced to correspond to a plurality of articles upon the traveling members, and means actuated by the projections for controlling the moving means.

15. In a storage apparatus, an article-holding member, a member movable to deliver articles to the holding member, a conveyor supplying articles to the delivering member, and an articleretaining member governed by the delivering member and preventing the presentation of the articles by the conveyor to the delivering member when said member is in its inactive position.

16. In a storage apparatus, a traveling articleholding member, means for moving the holding member into receiving position,va member movable from a normal position to deliver articles to the holding member, an article-retaining member controlling the presentation of the articles to the delivering member, and means for moving the retaining member out of the path of the articles only after the delivering member has made full forward delivering movement from normal.

17. In a storage apparatus, a traveling articleholding member, means for moving the holding member into receiving position, a member movable to deliver articles to the holding member, an article-retaining member associated with the delivering member, means acting at denite intervals for moving the retaining member out of the path of the articles, means for preventing the movement of the retaining member, and a member for freeing the retaining member from the movement-preventing means, such freeing member being connected to the movement-preventing means and movable by the delivering member.

18. In a storage apparatus, an article-holding member, means for presenting articles for delivery to the holding member, a delivering lever, means for oscillating the lever, a gate ar ranged to control the presentation of articles to the lever, yieldable means for moving the gate at denite intervals, and means for temporarily locking the gate against movement.

19. In a storage apparatus, an article-holding member, a conveyo/r presenting articles for delivery to the holding member, a delivering lever, means for constantly oscillating the lever, a gate arranged to control the presentation of articles by the conveyor to the lever, a latch for the gate, and a member joining the lever and latch and movable by the lever for operating the latch.

20. In a storage apparatus, a traveling articleholding member, means for moving the holding member into receiving position, a conveyor pre- 10 senting articles for delivery to the holding member, a delivering lever, means for constantly oscillating the lever, a gate arranged to control the presentation of articles by the conveyor to the lever, means for moving the gate at definite in- 15 tervals to permit the presentation of articles to the lever, a latch for the gate, and a member connecting the latch to the lever and tensioned upon delivering movement of the lever to move the latch and free the gate. 20

21. In a storage apparatus, a traveling articleholding member, means for moving the holding member into receiving position, a conveyor presenting articles for delivery to the holding member, a delivering lever, means for constantly os- 25 cillating the lever, a gate arranged to control the presentation of articles by the conveyor to the lever, operating connections for the gate including a spring through which the operating force is transmitted, a latch for the gate, and 20 connections to the lever arranged to move the latch and free the gate.

22. In a storage apparatus, a movable series of article-holding members, means for delivering articles to the members, means for moving the 3 series of members in one direction to present articles for utilization, means for controlling said moving means made eiective upon the removal of all articles from the holding member, means for moving the series in the opposite direction 40 for the reception of articles from the delivering means, and means controlled by the delivering means for governing the last-mentioned moving means.

23. In a storage apparatus, a storage-conveyor 45 having a series of bars, each provided with article-engaging means, a member movable into successive engagement with articles to deliver them in a series to each bar, and means made eilective by the engagement of the member upon the completion of a series for advancing the conveyor step-by-step to present the bars for the reception and removal of articles.

24. In a storage apparatus, a storage-conveyor having a series of transverse bars, each provided with article-engaging means, means for advancing the conveyor step-by-step to present the bars for the reception and removal of articles, a table past which the bars travel, a conveyor delivering articles to the table, a member movable to transfer articles from the table to the bars, and an endless member having projections arranged to engage articles upon a bar co-operating with the table and move said articles toward the table. (i5

25. In a storage apparatus, a storage-conveyor having a series of article-holders, means for advancing the conveyor step-by-step, an endless member having projections arranged to engage articles upon a holder to move said articles thereon, and a projection upon the endless member arranged to control the advancing means.

26. In a storage apparatus, a storage-conveyor having a series of transverse bars, each provided with article-engaging means, means for advancing the conveyor step-by-step to present the bars for the reception and removal of articles, a table past which the bars travel, a conveyor delivering articles to the table, a member movable to transfer articles from the table to the bars, and connections movable by the transferring member to control the advancing means.

27. In a storage apparatus, a storage-conveyor having a series of transverse bars, each provided with article-engaging means, means for advancing the conveyor step-by-step to present the bars for the reception and removal of articles, a table past which the bars travel, a conveyor delivering articles to the table, a member movable to transfer articles from the table to the bars, a gate co-operating with the conveyor, and means for operating the gate at definite intervals.

28. In a storage apparatus, a storage-conveyor having a series of transverse bars, each provided with article-engaging means, means' for advancing the conveyor step-by-step to present the bars for the reception and removal of articles, a table past which the bars travel, a conveyor delivering articles to the table, a member movable to transfer articles from the table to the bars, a

gate co-operating with the conveyor, means for operating the gate at denite intervals, a latch for the gate, and connections to the latch operable by the transferring member.

29. In a storage apparatus, a member arranged to hold a series of articles extending longitudinally o`f it, a member movable at one extremity of the holding member for introducing articles one by one to said member, and an endless member traveling in co-operation with the holding] member for successively presenting articles of the series for removal at the point of introduction.

30. In a storage apparatus, a movable member arranged to hold a series of articles extending longitudinally of it, a member movable at onel extremity of the holding member for introducing articles one by one to said member, and an endless member traveling in co-operation with the holding member for successively presenting articles of the series for removal at the point of 2 introduction, the endless member having means for controlling the movement of the holding member.

ERASTUS E. WINKLEY. 2 

